Dandelion
by JazzyCat
Summary: A short NejiTen oneshot I thought up. Sorta fluffy, hope you like it.


They were both five at the time of their first romantic encounter, though they didn't know that's what it was. They didn't even know what "romantic" meant. As either and you would've gotten a blank face and a week's worth of the child asking you what it was. Ask them what they thought of the opposite sex and their answer would most likely be "boys have cooties" or "girls are gross". A normal response for a child their age.

But whether they knew it or not, and no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, it was what it was.

It was on a sunny day in late April, perhaps early May. The sun was shining, but it wasn't extremely hot out, and the children if the village took advantage of that and decided to play hide and seek, en masse, in what would be their training grounds in a few years. The group was fairly large--about twenty kids showed up, including the nine who would become the rookies.

"Okay," said a boy with large eyes and brown hair. He was considered leader because he took charge so easily. He had a bandage on one cheek, which labeled him as tough. "I'll pick who's it, and the rest of us will hide, okay?" Everyone agreed, and then lined up. The leader walked down the line a few times until finally, he pointed to a brown-haired boy in the center of the line.

"You'll be 'it' ". The boy nodded, his lavender eyes understanding. "Okay, everyone, this will be base, and Neji'll count, so go hide!" Squealing and laughing everyone ran in different directions. Neji turned and covered his eyes and leaned his forehead against a tree and began to count in a monotone voice.

"One...two...three...four..." he counted slowly. A girl with shoulder-length blonde hair and her pink-haired best friend grasped hands and ran, and their friend following behind them. Neji peeked as they ran past him, the third girl catching his eye.

It was Tenten. Her hair wasn't long enough to put up yet, so she wore it down. It only reached just past her shoulder, and her bangs were long enough to brush against her chubby young cheeks. She giggle as she grasped the pink-haired girl's other hand and ran. Nneji quickly covered his eyes again and resumd counting before they caught him cheating.

"Seventeen...eighteen...nineteen...twenty...um..." he didn't know what came after twenty. "Ready or not, here I come!" He whirled around and surveyed his surroundings. He stood straight, arms at his side as his head moved slowly taking in every detail around him.

He saw a broken twig, and a bush that was bent abnormally just beyond it, and headed off that way, in no hurry. He moved slowly, so as not to arouse suspicion in his fellows, who were hiding horribly. They thought they were concealed behind thin bushes and on the low branches of trees, where they were easily seen by the well-trained eye of Neji Hyuga.

"Got you!" He cried as he tagged each of the children he'd found. Soon, he'd uncovered all but two. As he tagged the blonde girl, he look around for the two friends she'd been with earlier. Behind a nearby bush, over-laden with fresh green leaves, he saw an unnatural shade of pink. As soon as he looked toward it, it moved. He heard a stifled giggle.

"Got you, too," he said, poking the top of the pink head.

"Awww," she said and she laughed as she ran back to the "base" to join her friends.

Finally, he could find her. Finally, he could be alone. He didn't want any of the other boys to see what he wanted to do. Gingerly, he walked around the tree in front of him, and climbed up to the lowest branch. From there, he could see over the low bushes and into the far reaches of the underbrush. And from there, he could see the girl.

He plopped down onto the ground and walked. He walked slowly, carefully, trying to avoid stepping on leaves or twigs, and soon, he's worked his way around behind her. He stared at the back of her had as she peered through the leaves, on the look out for him.

He stopped, picked the dandelion at his feet and held it out to her. She didn't know he was there until he spoke.

"Hi," he mumbled, and she whirled, surprise in her eyes. Her gaze traveled from his face to the flower and back again.

"For me?" She asked, and he nodded. She took the stem between her pudgy thumb and forefinger, careful, as if holding it too tight would break i into a thousand pieces. He let his now-empty hand drop back to his side.

"You're pretty..." He said, but quietly. He was embarrassed. Everyone else thought the opposite gender had "cooties" or something ridiculous like that, but he got the vibe from her that she didn't. Nonetheless, neither of them wanted to be seen by their friends.

"Thank you!" Tenten said, her voice loud and sweet. She smiled up at him, her eyes closed, her long lashes brushing the tops of her cheeks. When she opened them, he was no longer there, pink-faced in front of her. He was just gone. She stood, and looked around. He was nowhere to be seen.

She tucked the flower behind her ear and ran off, eager to get to base as the only one who hadn't been caught.

Neither of them knew what had just happened. It was indeed a "romantic encounter" though only Tenten would remember it. When she turned sixteen, during a sparring match with Neji, she'd spotted a flower while hiding. A dandelion.

She'd never remind Neji, and assumed he didn't remember. She kept it as her own private memory, held it close to her heart, a beloved childhood memory, and plucked the dandelion from the ground, and tucked it behind her ear.


End file.
